This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use.

Last week, I got an invite to join the beta program for SugarSync (Thanks, Kyle!). I signed up immediately but didn't download the software.

SugarSync does exactly what I love: it synchronizes folders on my computer with folders on my other computers, so whenever I change a file, it's immediately available on all my PCs.
But this is nothing new. BeInSync has done it for a while, though it'll cost you $60 a year.

My preference is free, free, FREE and I get that from an unexpected place: Microsoft. It owns FolderShare, the service I've been using to sync my computers with XP, Vista, and Mac OS for months.

My fear was that Microsoft had forgotten FolderShare, and planned to let it stagnate. That's a pretty strong word to use for a product that continues to operate flawlessly in the background and has become essential in my life, but that's simply how it feels in an industry where a product is only as good as its next big upgrade.

Thankfully, Microsoft has announced an update, bringing FolderShare into the Windows Live family of services. Even though I can't access FolderShare from my Windows Live account (I used a Gmail address) and it appears to have not changed at all functionally, it's certainly got, uh... a prettier Web site and a nice new icon. Whoopee. (Redmond should have integrated backup with Windows Live SkyDrive by now.)

SugarSync (from SharpCast), on the other hand, is dedicated to the world of--as its tagline says--"sync with benefits." It goes the extra mile by syncing with phones (for pictures, at least), providing remote access to computers, and offering 1GB of online backup for synced files, which you can access through a browser.

There was one big thing holding me back: FolderShare supports the MacOS. As of today, SugarSync, in beta for Windows, is offering an alpha version for the Mac.

For some, that's enough incentive to kiss another perfectly good Microsoft product good-bye. Just keep in mind: When it launches in March, SugarSync will start costing actual money. Pricing hasn't been set yet, but the company says it will be competitive with that of BeInSync.

Will you get what you pay for? Probably. If you're cheap like me, though, keep in mind that Windows Live FolderShare, with its spiffy new icons, still works like a charm.

Eric narrowly averted a career in food service when he began in tech publishing at Ziff-Davis over 20 years ago. He was on the founding staff of Windows Sources, FamilyPC, and Access Internet Magazine (all defunct, and it's not his fault). He's the author of two novels, BETA TEST ("an unusually lighthearted apocalyptic tale"--Publishers' Weekly) and KALI: THE GHOSTING OF SEPULCHER BAY. He works from his home in Ithaca, NY.
More »